The
way forward in 2017Democratic centralists still in control, progressives
ignoring racism

Yes, Bernie Sanders probably would have beaten
Donald Trump.

Bernie's candidate in November 2016 for replacing Dona
Brazil as Democratic National Committee Chair was Rep Keith Ellison,
Minnesota, a progressive Black Muslim. Ellison was also favored by
Senators Elizabeth Warren and Charles Schumer. His campaign was narrowly
defeated 2/25/17 by Democratic Centralists who have yet to absorb the
lessons of Hillary's defeat. Survey after survey shows the US electorate
to be to the left of both parties, more akin to the center in Europe,
which is to the left of the US political establishment. Yet the centralist
actually mounted a major campaign to deny Keith Ellison the chair and
install Tom Perez, Obama's labor secretary who Hillary considered as a
running mate.

On the other hand Bernie is gaining on
them: "Less than a year after only 39 of 447 DNC members endorsed Sanders'
presidential campaign, his chosen candidate came about 15 votes short of
taking over the whole thing." --
The DNC Chair Race Is Over. Now Comes the Real Battle. 2/25/2017 Mother
Jones

However, we are looking for signs that
Bernie Sanders himself has absorbed the lessons of his primary campaign
and Trumps' win,
especially those concerning identity politics. The Bern started
out his approach to the Black community with classic top down leftist policies
addressing economic disparities. As anyone familiar with Cuba can tell
you, this does not necessarily work. His 2016 campaign had a lot of problems addressing
the Black vote. See Bernie Sanders and the
Black Vote, 2016 Primaries for some lessons to be learned. Yet
it is clear that he still has not learned the lessons he could have:

Bernie Is Wrong and Malcolm Was Right: What White Liberals So Often Get
Wrong About Racism and Donald Trump 4/4/2017 Alternet: ""For example,
last Friday Sen. Bernie Sanders spoke in Boston at the Our Revolution
Rally, where he said this: "Some people think that the people who voted
for Trump are racists and sexists and homophobes and deplorable folks. I
don’t agree, because I’ve been there." Given Sanders’ long history of
fighting for human rights, his comments are profoundly disappointing. They
also demonstrate the blind spot and willful myopia that too many white
liberals and progressives have toward white racism in America."

The way forward promises to be a tough
slug for the Democrats who have not abandoned their democratic centralism
on the right or their ignorance (I am being charitable) of racism on
the left.

-- Andy Petit

Resources

brandnewcongress.org/home
"We had a two party system. That system let the people down so badly
that a reality TV star mopped the floor with BOTH parties while turning
America against itself. Now it’s truly time that We the People take back
our government."

Keith Ellison’s supporters say Israel attacks helped sink his DNC bid 2/26/2017 Vox: "“Oh,
absolutely it hurt him — it’s what they used against him,” said Jean Ross, of
National Nurses United, when asked about the accusations that Ellison was
anti-Israel or anti-Semitic. “Certainly, many states’ [DNC] voters heard rumors
about him being anti-Semitic, even though he was solidly endorsed by the Jewish
community.”

Progressives riled up after DNC vote 2/26/2017 CNN: "National Nurses United
Co-president Jean Ross, whose organization was the first national union to
endorse Sanders in 2015, said she was "bitterly disappointed" by the result and
accused Ellison's opponents of running a "smear campaign" against him. "Those of
[us] in labor know power never concedes. Never," she said. "No, you have to take
it from them. And they're not ready. They're going to fight us tooth and nail."
"

Why did Keith Ellison lose the DNC race? 2/26/2017 WaPo: "Young Turks'
Konst obtained a formulaic-seeming email sent to undecided DNC members, warning
them that electing Ellison would “send the wrong message” on Israel. The attacks
on Ellison ate up a surprising amount of the space that the DNC race earned in
mainstream media. (Dershowitz's media savvy didn't hurt.) It negatively affected
Ellison only around the margins, but in a race decided by 18 votes, it stung."

They Must Be Trying To Fail 2/25/2017 Current Affairs: "The race between
Ellison and Perez was, however, a meaningful moment in determining the future of
the party. And it wasn’t only the left-wing Ellison supporters who seemed to
think so. After all, Obama-affiliated Democrats drafted Perez specifically in
order to keep Ellison from attaining the chairmanship. Pressure had been brought
upon them by wealthy party donors to make sure Ellison was foiled."

The DNC Chair Race Is Over. Now Comes the Real Battle. 2/25/2017 Mother
Jones: "Less than a year after only 39 of 447 DNC members endorsed Sanders'
presidential campaign, his chosen candidate came about 15 votes short of taking
over the whole thing. The numbers reflect Sanders' forces growing strength in
the party, a gradual upheaval that may only be sped along by Perez's victory.
DNC members from Wyoming—where the Vermont senator notched a huge caucus victory
but due to party rules emerged with few delegates—who are not on board are
feeling the heat. When Bruce Palmer, the party's vice chair, told me he was
supporting Tom Perez, he conceded that it may be to his own detriment. After
all, he's got an election next month."

'Incredibly Disappointing': Democrats Choose Tom Perez to Head Party 2/25/2017 Common
Dreams: "Perez was backed by "many from former President Obama's political
orbit," as ABC News writes, and "is viewed—with good reason—as a reliable
functionary and trustworthy loyalist by those who have controlled the party and
run it into the ground," journalist Glenn Greenwald wrote this week."

Sanders Supporters Are Taking Over The Democratic Party 2/22/2017 IBT: "A
new wave of liberal activism nationwide in the Democratic party’s base has
helped numerous Sanders supporters win low-level posts in blue areas like
California, signaling a long-term fundamental shift that could shift the party
further to the left."

“Identity Politics” Takes a Hit 1/2/2017 In These Times: "Bernie Sanders
smacked it from the left during a controversial post-election speech in Boston,
when he said in response to a Latina’s question, “One of the struggles that
you’re going to be seeing in the Democratic Party is whether we go beyond
identity politics.”

The Smear Campaign Against Keith Ellison Is Repugnant but Reveals Much About
Washington 12/4/2016 The Intercept: "This smear campaign against Ellison
received a major boost Friday night when the single largest funder of both the
Democratic Party and the Hillary Clinton campaign, the Israeli-American
billionaire Haim Saban, said at the Brookings Institution, a part of which he
funds: “If you go back to his positions, his papers, his speeches, the way he
has voted, he is clearly an anti-Semite and anti-Israel individual.” Saban
added: “Keith Ellison would be a disaster for the relationship between the
Jewish community and the Democratic Party.”"

Howard Dean No Longer Seeking DNC Chair Position, Paving Path for Ellison 12/2/2016 Common
Dreams: "While he did not back any candidate in his brief address, former party
chair Dean said: "I know this job better than anyone in this room. It requires
80 hours of work a week and constant travel across the country to
fundraise...this is a full-time job." The Hill wrote that represents "a hurdle
to Ellison's bid." He also said the fight to lead the party should not become a
battle between Hillary Clinton supporters and Bernie Sanders backers."

Bernie Sanders Says It’s Time To ‘Rethink’ The Electoral College 11/14/2016 Huff
Post: "The Constitution’s framers came up with the idea of the Electoral College
to ensure that no state had too much power in deciding presidential contests.
But due to racial and geographic breakdowns, the system now gives
disproportionate power to rural white voters, who are more likely to live in
competitive battleground states, while people of color tend to be
over-represented in safely blue or red states."

Battle brewing for DNC leadership 11/11/2016 CNN: "Howard Dean, who ran the
Democratic National Committee from 2005 to 2009, announced on Thursday he would
again seek its top role. Soon after he announced, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders
and his top allies began pushing Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison for the role."

Bernie Sanders Is Right: The DNC Needs Rep. Keith Ellison To Be The Next Chair 11/11/2016 Politicus: "Keith
is one of the most progressive members of Congress, and he was an early
supporter of our political revolution. He is a co-chair of the House Progressive
Caucus, a strong believer in grassroots politics, and someone who would be
enormously effective in leading the Democratic Party against President Donald
Trump. It isn’t just his bio and background that makes Rep. Ellison right for
the job. Ellison has shown that he can seamlessly move between both wings of the
party. He is a progressive, who also moved from supporting Sen. Sanders in the
primary to helping to unify the left around Hillary Clinton. Ellison is very
comfortable in the national media, and he understands the need for a grassroots
rebuilding of a DNC that atrophied under Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz."

Who is Keith Ellison? Meet the Muslim American who Bernie Sanders wants to
replace DNC chairwoman Donna Brazile 11/11/2016 Salon: "Ellison is being
backed by a big name among the Democratic left: Bernie Sanders, whose
relationship with the DNC during the primaries was far from perfect, thinks
Ellison will redirect the DNC’s attention away from fundraising and towards
working-class families. “You can’t tell working people you’re on their side
while at the same time you’re raising money from Wall Street and the billionaire
class,” the Vermont senator told The Washington Post. “The Democratic Party has
to be focused on grass-roots America and not wealthy people attending cocktail
parties.”"

Warren: Ellison would make a 'terrific' DNC chair 11/10/2016 Politico: "Sen.
Elizabeth Warren said Thursday that Rep. Keith Ellison "would make a terrific"
Democratic National Committee chairman, but she's not yet ready to say the same
of former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean."

Sanders backs Ellison for DNC chairman 11/10/2016 Politico: "The Minnesota
congressman has been angling for the job, working back channels to position
himself as a strong candidate to run the DNC. Ellison, a Sanders supporter when
the Vermont senator ran for president, has previously discussed being DNC chair
with Sanders."

Promise in the Problem: A Message from Nina Turner 11/10/2016 Progressive
Army: "In many ways, the final nail in the 2016 Democratic coffin was shutting
out former State Senator Nina Turner. Sen Turner was the spark plug of the
Bernie Sanders campaign. She, along with Dr. Cornel West, was the key to
activating Black Progressives and the vast majority of non-Black Progressives
and independents. But, the Democratic power elite knew that they would have to
really deliver on the Progressive agenda in order to keep the principled Senator
Turner on board. She is the Progressive Whisperer. Because the Dems were more
loyal to the donor class than they were to the people, the only course of action
was to marginalize Nina. That is exactly what they did."

Former 'Black Men for Bernie' leader now backing Trump 10/14/2016 Fox
News: "Bruce Carter, who led "Black Men for Bernie," told FoxNews.com he had a
change of heart after he traveled to urban communities and saw the levels of
poverty in Democrat-controlled areas of the country. “Once I got involved, I
realized that the Democratic Party was operating as if they own the country, and
that was a major turn off for me,” Carter said. “I didn’t want to represent a
party that saw its people in that way.”"

The Fed Audit 7/21/2016 Bernie Sanders: See the actual audit link at the
bottom of the post, its page 131 for the eye opening amounts of loans, in the
trilliions for major banks.

Meet the Group of African-American Organizers Building Black Support for Bernie
Sanders 9/14/2015 In These Times: "Crosby and other Chicago-based black
activists have formed a group called the Bernie Brigade that attempts to
showcase Sanders’ progressive platform and long history of support for the black
struggle. The group canvasses for Sanders in majority-black neighborhoods and
holds pro-Sanders events. “We’re still very much engaged in an educational
process,” he notes. “Many in our community are unfamiliar with Bernie. They just
see an elderly white man from remote, white Vermont. And, quite frankly, that’s
a hard sell.”"

We had a two party system. That system let the people down so badly that a
reality TV star mopped the floor with BOTH parties while turning America against
itself. Now it’s truly time that We the People take back our government.

We're here to take back the country.

We’re recruiting and running 400+ candidates as a single, unified campaign for
Congress in 2018. They will pass a radical and practical plan to get everyone
good jobs, get incomes rising again and rid our government of corruption.
Americans are hungry to rebuild their country together with everyone from every
community, region, race and culture. Step 1 is electing a Brand New Congress in
2018.